Method and apparatuses for controlling quality of experience based on UE-assisted feedback

ABSTRACT

The disclosure is directed to a method and apparatuses for controlling quality of experience (QoE) based on UE assisted feedback. In one aspect, the method would include not limited to: receiving an enable indicator which indicates a first feedback signaling to be transmitted; performing a quality of experience (QoE) evaluation for fulfilling a performance requirement; and transmitting the first feedback signaling including a first preferred configuration of licensed wireless connection in response to performing the QoE evaluation, wherein the wireless connection comprises a licensed wireless connection and a licensed-assisted access connection.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisionalapplication Ser. No. 62/366,633, filed on Jul. 26, 2016. The entirety ofthe above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated byreference herein and made a part of this specification.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure is related to a method and apparatuses for controllingquality of experience (QoE) based on user equipment (UE) assistedfeedback.

BACKGROUND

The Third Generation Partnership (3GPP) has aimed to incorporate thewireless local area network (WLAN) to order to improve the currentcommunication technology. The 3GPP/WLAN radio interworking Release-12(Rel-12) has proposed a solution related to Core Network (CN) based WLANoffloading so as to improve the overall user quality of experience (QoE)and network utilization by providing more control to the networkoperators. These improvements could be further enhanced by Long TermEvolution (LTE)/WLAN aggregation and LTE/WLAN inter-working enhancementsthat are relevant to both co-located and non-co-located deploymentscenarios. A WLAN termination node (WTN) currently may include one ormore access points (APs). User Equipment (UEs) that are capable ofconnecting to multiple radio access technologies (RAT) may initiate aWLAN measurement report while an eNB configures the UE to perform WLANmeasurements which may include measurements of frequency, channel, WLANidentifier, and etc. Furthermore, deployment scenarios in the nextgeneration access technologies may include WLAN/AP or nodes supportinglicensed/unlicensed spectrum. Detailed description of these nextgeneration access technologies could be found in 3GPP TR 38.913, 3GPP TR38.804, 3GPP R2-164306 which are incorporated by reference for which isincorporated by reference for supplementing the terms and concepts ofthe disclosure.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, “M node” of FIG. 1 could be an eNB, anew radio (NR) node, a LTE node, a transmission/reception point (TRP),and so forth. The “S node” could be an eNB, a WLAN, a NR node, aLicensed-Assisted access (LAA) node, a high frequency node, anunlicensed frequency node, a distributed node, a TRP, and so forth. UEs(e.g. UE_1, UE_2, UE_3, UE_4, UE_5, UE_6) capable of LTE-WLANaggregation (LWA)/dual connectivity (DC)/LAA functionalities could beconfigured with split/configurable/LWA/LAA bearer. Currently, theenhanced LWA (eLWA) system builds on the Rel-13 LWA framework withoutdeparting from the LWA architecture and thus supports WLAN nodesdeployed and controlled by operators and their partners. FIG. 1Billustrates the current R-13 LWA framework which utilizes a split bearerscheme including at least a split LTE bearer and a split LWA bearer. Thedetailed principle of operation of FIG. 2 is recorded in R2-162183 whichis incorporated by reference for supplementing the terms and concepts ofthe disclosure. The objectives of this work item are to specify anadditional feature of LWA directed to uplink (UL) data transmission forWLAN, including UL bearer switch and bearer split.

In 3GPP TSG RAN WG2 #94 meeting minutes, RAN2 concluded the followingagreements including: 1. Sending a PDCP PDUs to WLAN is based on “some”eNB control without impacting existing WLAN MAC. (This eliminates fullper packet eNB scheduling of WLAN and eliminates full UEimplementation). 2. Only support split bearer type for Rel-14 eLWA UL.3. UE could be configured so that traffic on the UL split bearer couldonly be submitted for transmission on both, WLAN only or LTE only.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Accordingly, the disclosure is directed to a method and apparatuses forcontrolling QoE based on UE assisted feedback.

In one aspect, the disclosure is directed to a method used by a userequipment for controlling QoE based on UE assisted feedback. The methodwould include not limited to: receiving an enable indicator whichindicates a first feedback signaling to be transmitted; performing aquality of experience (QoE) evaluation for fulfilling a performancerequirement; and transmitting the first feedback signaling including afirst preferred configuration of licensed wireless connection inresponse to performing the QoE evaluation, wherein the wirelessconnection comprises a licensed wireless connection and alicensed-assisted access connection.

In one aspect, the disclosure is directed to a user equipment whichwould include a transmitter, a receiver, and a processor coupled to thetransmitter and the receiver. The processor is configured at least to:receive, by the receiver, an enable indicator which indicates a firstfeedback signaling to be transmitted; perform a quality of experience(QoE) evaluation for fulfilling a performance requirement; and transmit,via the transmitter, a first feedback signaling comprising a firstpreferred configuration of an aggregate configuration in response toperforming the first QoE evaluation, wherein, wherein the wirelessconnection comprises a licensed wireless connection and alicensed-assisted access connection.

In one aspect, the disclosure is directed to a base station which wouldinclude a transmitter, a receiver, and a processor coupled to thetransmitter and the receiver. The processor is configured at least to:receive a first feedback signaling comprising a preferred configurationof a wireless connection, wherein the preferred configuration comprisesa preferred direction and the wireless connection comprises a licensedwireless connection and a licensed-assisted access connection; transmita first configuration message which comprises a status report inquiryand a measurement inquiry associated with one or more radio accesstechnologies (RATs) in response to receiving the first feedbacksignaling; receive a second feedback signaling comprising a measurementreport associated with the measurement inquiry in response totransmitting the first configuration message; and transmit a secondconfiguration message to update the preferred configuration in responseto receiving the measurement report.

In order to make the aforementioned features and advantages of thedisclosure comprehensible, exemplary embodiments accompanied withfigures are described in detail below. It is to be understood that boththe foregoing general description and the following detailed descriptionare exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of thedisclosure as claimed.

It should be understood, however, that this summary may not contain allthe aspect and embodiments of the disclosure and is therefore not meantto be limiting or restrictive in any manner. Also, the disclosure wouldinclude improvements and modifications which are obvious to one skilledin the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitutea part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of thedisclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the disclosure.

FIG. 1A illustrates a hypothetical LWA system as an example.

FIG. 1B illustrates data transmission of WLAN which uses UL split beareraccording to Rel-13.

FIG. 2A illustrates a method of controlling configurable split bearerbased on user equipment (UE) assisted feedback from the perspective of aUE in accordance with one of the exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 2B illustrates a method of controlling configurable split bearerbased on user equipment (UE) assisted feedback from the perspective of abase station in accordance with one of the exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 2C illustrates the hardware diagram of a UE in accordance with oneof the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2D illustrates the hardware diagram of a base station in accordancewith one of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling diagram of controlling configurable splitbearer based on user equipment (UE) assisted feedback in accordance withone of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a signaling diagram of controlling configurable splitbearer based on user equipment (UE) assisted feedback in accordance withone of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a general message flow that may involve a M node(e.g. eNB) and a S node (e.g. WLAN) in accordance with one of theexemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6A illustrates a UE sending an event indication upon triggering oneor more events in accordance with one of the exemplary embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 6B illustrates a M node determining an event triggering inaccordance with one of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6C illustrates a S node determining an event triggering inaccordance with one of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a M node collecting UE's feedback information tore-configure a S node in accordance with one of the exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a M node changing UL direction in accordance with oneof the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 9A illustrates a M node enabling a UE to feedback an indicatorwhich indicates high traffic demand in accordance with one of theexemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 9B illustrates a M node resolving a problem on its own inaccordance with one of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a M node selecting a S node for a UE in accordancewith one of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a M node resolving a problem on its own inaccordance with one of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a M node requiring S node's assistance in accordancewith one of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates a M node collecting feedback information from S nodeor UE to re-configure the S node in accordance with one of the exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a M node requiring more feedback information from aUE in accordance with one of the exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates a UE providing a preference of direction inaccordance with one of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates a M node rejects UE's preference in accordance withone of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 17 illustrates a M node commanding a UE to schedule or route datato a WLAN only in accordance with one of the exemplary embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 18 illustrates contents of a UE buffer in accordance with one ofthe exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 19 illustrates a feedback from UE to indicate traffic congestion inaccordance with one of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 20 illustrates a M node receiving an indicator which indicatestraffic congestion in accordance with one of the exemplary embodimentsof the disclosure.

FIG. 21 illustrates a M node receiving an indicator which indicatestraffic congestion by requesting feedback from S node or UE inaccordance with one of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers areused in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or likeparts.

From the background description, several technical challenges could beencountered. First, WLAN scheduling may not be suitable for LTE since aWLAN transmission is not generally scheduled but is instead in responseto a clear channel assessment (CCA) as the WLAN air interface istypically time multiplexed between UL/downlink (DL) of all stations(e.g. UEs) and APs that are sharing the same channel. (2) WLAN (e.g., ULgrant) may not be controlled by eNB which gives uplink grants for LTEwhile the UE uses WiFi to transmit buffered data. (3) Coexistence withuser preference or user experience could be problematic as a UE maydecide when and how much data to transmit on WLAN, but suchimplementation may not be reliable or predictable. (4) The question ofwhether and how the eNB would control the transmission for WLAN foruplink would remain open. Thus, some of these potential challenges wouldneed to be resolved.

Table 1 and Table 2 below summarizes the motivation, the cause, theperspective in views of users/system/network, and suitable solutions.Instances of ‘TX’ from Table 1 and Table 2 could be a UE, and instancesof ‘RX’ could be an eNB or access point (AP). WLAN resource may refer toradio resource, hardware resource, buffer, transceiver, RF module/chain,WLAN module, TX/RX opportunity/duration of a WALN, baseband processor,antenna, etc.

TABLE 1 Motivation CCA Cause Perspective Solution A failure A1. BusyMedium TX: high RSSI level eNB to modify UL mechanism e.g., too many UEsRX: reduced traffic direction. e.g.. both, or process use/occupy WLANamount LTE or WLAN to deal with resource, and CCA (B1) problems failureis increased eNB to assist UE to when using (e.g., RSSI over aconnect/associate WLAN threshold) with a specific Success A2. BusyMedium TX: reduced data channel number/AP e.g., bad channel rate due topathloss (A2-A3) condition, and low RX: reduced traffic eNB to reducedthe MCS level amount number of UE to A3. Busy Medium TX: not awareconnect/associate e.g., interference RX: increased error with the samecauseshigher error rate WLAN/AP rate at receiver. (A1-B2) B. TrafficCongestion TX: increased B1. e.g.. bad design of traffic buffered dataor routing in UE implementation increased buffer B2. e.g., not enoughWLAN latency resource RX: not aware, or reduced traffic amont OptimizedC: Traffic Demand eNB to assist UE to WLAN Only UE knows, e.g., informwhile higher layer connect/associate transmission (e.g., applicationlayer) is aware of huge traffic with a specific amount coming orhappening channel number/AP D: UE Preference eNB to modify UL direction,e.g., both, LTE or WLAN

TABLE 2 Motivation Cause Solution A A. Bad channel condition eNB tomodify UL mechanism A1. e.g., too many UEs direction, e.g., both, orprocess use/occupy WLAN resource, LTE or WLAN to deal with and CCAfailure is increased (B1) problems (e.g., RSSI over a threshold) eNB toassist UE to when using A2. e.g., bad channel condition,connect/associate WLAN and low MCS level with a specific A3. e.g.,interference causes channel number/AP higher error rate at receiver.(A2-A3) B. Traffic Congestion eNB to reduced the B1. e.g., bad design oftraffic number of UE to routing in UE implementation connect/associateB2. e.g., not enough WLAN with the same resource WLAN/AP (A1-B2)Optimized C: Traffic Demand eNB to assist UE to WLAN Only UE knows,e.g., inform connect/associate transmission while higher layer (e.g.,with a specific application layer) is aware of channel number/AP hugetraffic amount coming or happening D: UE Preference eNB to modify ULdirection, e.g., both, LTE or WLAN

Solutions in Table 1 and Table 2 could be applicable to all cases. Casesor causes may include ‘busy medium’ (e.g. ‘bad channel condition’),‘traffic congestion’, ‘traffic demand’, ‘UE preference’, and etc.However, there may be one suitable solution to deal with problems whenusing S node (e.g., WLAN or AP) in each case. For example, the solutionof eNB to modify UL direction, e.g., both, LTE or WLAN, could besuitable to case B1 and case D. The solution of eNB to assist UE toconnect or associate with a specific channel number or AP may besuitable to case A2, case A3, and case C. The solution of eNB to reducethe number of UEs to connect or associate with the same WLAN or AP maybe suitable to Case A1 and B2. ‘Busy medium’ could be the same as badchannel condition. For example, if a UE fails to occupy a resource of achannel, the transmission quality is not fulfilled (e.g., low QoS, lowdata rate, low Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), high error rate,etc.)

This disclosure considers a scenario in which any UE which supportssplit bearers would also be capable of DC or LWA functionalities. An eNBmay need to determine the UL direction for a UE served by the eNB via adirection command which may include, LTE direction/connection, WLANdirection/connect, or both LTE and WLAN. This disclosure also presents amechanism to help the eNB to make a decision of direction command forthe UL split bearer of the UE.

Previously, the determination of the UL direction in a split bearersetup is determined solely by the eNB. One of the main issues is thateNB has no or little information from UEs or WLANs to determine the ULdirection for the UE. Such eNB could may thus be unaware of userexperience or operational status because of lacking explicit feedbacks.Therefore, the solutions of the disclosure may allow the eNB todynamically or efficiently operate or manage the system such as byaccurate and dynamic configuration of UL direction of split bearersthrough UE's direction command, if eNB could be aware of causes of baduser experience or unreliable operations. The eNB may provide bettersolutions or consider more situations to determine the UL direction ofsplit bearer or UE's direction command. Consequently, the UE may havebetter experience in the UL transmission or the usage of WLAN.

This disclosure discloses techniques for UEs or WLAN to reflect userexperience or operational status to the eNB. Via the reflection ofinformation from the UE or WLAN, eNB may acknowledge UEs or WLANs'status and subsequently better control the system. With the assistanceof information from the UEs and WLANs such as feedback information orstatus report (e.g., buffer status report, PDCP status report, WLANstatus report, etc.), an eNB may determine the direction command basedon the feedback information.

This disclosure provides the addition of new triggering events, theenhancement of feedback information, the assistance ofconfiguration/modification/update of direction command, the usage ofWLAN or LWA functionality, the balance or the management of the system,the improvement to the system performance, the process to resolve user'sbad experience, or the dissatisfaction or the inadequacy of eNB'sconfiguration from UEs. The subsequent disclosure provides the design oftriggering events and feedback information in further detail.

The disclosed method and apparatuses for controlling configurable splitbearer (e.g., configurable split bearer may be associated with a beareridentifier.) based on UE assisted feedback are summarized in FIG.2A˜FIG. 2D and their corresponding written description. FIG. 2Aillustrates a method of controlling configurable split bearer based onUE assisted feedback from the perspective of a UE. In step S201, the UEwould receive a first configuration message including an enableindicator which indicates that a first feedback signaling is to betransmitted in response to satisfying any one or a combination of aplurality of triggering events. The first feedback signal may include afirst preferred configuration which may include one or a combination ofa direction command, a status report, a measurement report, an updatingcause, a preferred direction, a preference direction, and a preferenceindication. The first preferred configuration would be for a wirelessconnection. The wireless connection may include a licensed wirelessconnection and/or a licensed-assisted access connection. The firstconfiguration message may further include a status report inquiry. Instep S202, the UE may have detected that a first WLAN is temporarilyunavailable which satisfies one of the plurality of triggering events(e.g. first triggering event). For example, the UE may evaluate orperform an evaluation based on one of the plurality of triggering eventsand subsequently determine that a connection to a wireless network istemporarily unavailable, and the wireless network being temporarilyunavailable could be (associated with) one of the plurality oftriggering events. In particular, the UE may also perform a quality ofexperience (QoE) evaluation for fulfilling a performance requirement. Instep S203, the UE would transmit, after receiving the enable indicator,the first feedback signaling including a cause indicator which indicatesa first triggering event of the plurality of triggering events inresponse to having determined that a first WLAN is temporarilyunavailable. The cause could be a new cause or an updating cause from aprevious cause. (In this example, the first trigger event indicated bythe cause indicator could be ‘busy medium’.) In step S204, the UE wouldmaintain a current Long-Term Evolution (LTE)-WLAN (LWA) configuration(i.e. an aggregate configuration). Also in step S204, the UE would waitfor a second configuration message in response to transmitting the firstfeedback signaling. The first feedback signaling may optionally includea capability indicator to indicate whether LWA configuration could besupported by the UE. The second configuration would provide furtherinstruction as for how the UE would conduct uplink transmissions.

In one of the exemplary embodiments, the enable indicator furtherindicates that a second feedback signaling is to be transmitted inresponse to one of the plurality of triggering events. The secondfeedback signaling may include a second preferred configuration whichmay include one or a combination of a direction command, a statusreport, a measurement report, an updating cause, a preferred direction,a preference direction, and a preference indication. The secondpreferred configuration would be for the wireless connection. Thewireless connection may include a licensed wireless connection and/or alicensed-assisted access connection. The UE would perform anotherevaluation to determine whether one of the plurality of triggeringevents has occurred. The connection to the first wireless network beingavailable again could be another one of the triggering events to triggerthe second feedback signaling (e.g. S405) after the connection to thefirst wireless network has previously been temporarily unavailable.

In one of the exemplary embodiments, the first configuration message mayfurther include a status indicator which indicates that a status reportis to be transmitted in response one of the plurality of triggeringevents to have occurred. The status report may include a buffer statusreport, a first wireless network status report, and a PDCP statusreport.

In one of the exemplary embodiments, the first configuration message mayfurther include a measurement report is to be transmitted in response toany one of the plurality of triggering events. The measurement reportmay include a LTE measurement result, a first wireless networkmeasurement result, and a configured RAT measurement result.

FIG. 2B illustrates a method of controlling configurable split bearerbased on UE assisted feedback from the perspective of a base station. Instep S211, the base station would transmit, via the transmitter, a firstconfiguration message including an enable indicator which indicates thata first feedback signaling is to be transmitted in response tosatisfying any one or a combination of a plurality of triggering events.In step S212, the base station would receive, after transmitting theenable indicator, the first feedback signaling including a causeindicator which indicates a first triggering event (e.g. ‘busy medium’)of the plurality of triggering events in response to having determinedthat a first WLAN is temporarily unavailable. In step S213, the basestation would configure an updated Long-Term Evolution (LTE)-WLAN (LWA)configuration in response to receiving the first feedback signaling. Instep S214, the base station would transmit a second configurationmessage including the updated LWA configuration. The secondconfiguration would provide further instruction as for how a UE wouldconduct uplink transmissions.

FIG. 2C illustrates the hardware diagram of a UE in accordance with oneof the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. The term UE in thisdisclosure could be a mobile station, an advanced mobile station (AMS),a server, a client, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a networkcomputer, a workstation, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tabletpersonal computer (PC), a scanner, a (smart) telephone device, a watch,a pager, a camera, a television, a hand-held video game device, amusical device, a wireless sensor, a drone, and the like. In someapplications, a UE may be a fixed computer device operating in a mobileenvironment, such as a bus, a train, an airplane, a boat, a car, and soforth.

The structure of the UE would include not limited to a processor 221coupled to a transmitter and/or receiver (transceiver) 222, a storagemedium 223, and optionally a user interface (UI) 224 which may or maynot contain a display 225. The transmitter and/or receiver 222 arecontrolled by the processor 221 to down-convert radio frequency signals(RF) (or millimeter wave signals) received from an antenna (array) intobaseband signals to be processed by the processor 221 and are controlledby the processor 221 to up-convert baseband signals into RF ormillimeter wave signals to be transmitted through the antenna (array).The transmitter and/or receiver 222 may also include one or more sets ofhardware tuned to different frequency bands such as RF frequency,millimeter frequency, Bluetooth frequency, WiFi frequency, and so forth.The storage medium 223 contains temporary and/or permanent storagemedium for storage of temporarily buffered data or for permanent(non-volatile) data storage. The processor 221 would include one or moremay include one or more hardware processing units such as processors,controllers, or discrete integrated circuits to implement the disclosedtechnique for controlling configurable split bearer based on userequipment (UE) assisted feedback.

FIG. 2D illustrates the hardware diagram of a base station (BS) inaccordance with one of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. Theterm BS in this disclosure could be a variation or a variation or anadvanced version of a 5G BS, macro cell BS, micro cell BS, pico cell BS,femto cell BS, “eNodeB” (eNB), a Node-B, an advanced BS (ABS), a basetransceiver system (BTS), an access point, a home BS, a relay station, ascatterer, a repeater, an intermediate node, an intermediary,satellite-based communication BSs, and so forth.

The structure of the BS would include not limited to would include notlimited to a processor 231 coupled to a transmitter and/or receiver(transceiver) 232, a storage medium 233, and a backhaul transceiver 234.The transmitter and/or receiver 232 are controlled by the processor 231to down-convert radio frequency signals (RF) (or millimeter wavesignals) received from an antenna (array) into baseband signals to beprocessed by the processor 231 and are controlled by the processor 231to up-convert baseband signals into RF or millimeter wave signals to betransmitted through the antenna (array). The storage medium 233 containstemporary and/or permanent storage medium for storage of temporarilybuffered data or for permanent (non-volatile) data storage. The backhaultransceiver 234 may include one or more transceivers (e.g. Si interface)for communicating with the core network and/or one or more inter-basestation interfaces (e.g. X2) for communicating with another basestation. The processor 231 would include one or more may include one ormore hardware processing units such as processors, controllers, ordiscrete integrated circuits to implement the disclosed technique forcontrolling configurable split bearer based on user equipment (UE)assisted feedback.

The disclosure provides various exemplary embodiments to furtherelucidate the above described concepts as shown in subsequent figuresand their corresponding written descriptions. FIG. 3 illustrates asignaling diagram of controlling configurable split bearer based on userequipment (UE) assisted feedback in accordance with one of the exemplaryembodiments of the disclosure. In step S301, the M Node may deteuninewhether to enable or suspend UE-assisted feedback mechanism forconfiguring the UL split bearer of a UE. The M node could be an eNB or abase station. Assuming that the M Node determines to enable UE-assistedfeedback mechanism, in step S302, the M node would transmit to the UE afirst MNode Configuration-to-UE message which may include not limited toan indicator which is enabled. The indicator may indicates whether UEmay implement the UE-assisted feedback mechanism in response to thetriggering of an event. In step S303, assuming that a serving WLAN forthe UE has been temporarily suspended is one of the triggering events,and such event has been detected by the UE. In step S304, the UE wouldtransmit to the M Node a UE feedback information-to-MNode message whichmay include not limited to a cause indicator. In this example, the causeindicator would indicate ‘busy medium’ which corresponds to one of thetriggering event. In step S305, the M Node, would make the UL decisionas for the UL direction of the UE which could be the LTE, another radioaccess technology (RAT) (e.g., WLAN or AP), or multiple RATs (e.g., bothLTE and WLAN). In step S306, the UE would maintain the current LWAconfiguration (e.g., release/setup, WLAN IDs, parameters forauthentication, parameters for WLAN status report, etc.) and wait forfurther instruction from the M Node during WLAN temporary suspension. Instep S307, the M Node would transmit to the UE a second MNodeConfiguration-to-UE message which would include UL command for the UEwhich would then transmit UL data based on the UL command.

FIG. 4 illustrates a signaling diagram of controlling configurable splitbearer based on user equipment (UE) assisted feedback in accordance withone of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. In step S401, the Mnode would transmit to the UE a first MNode Configuration-to-UE messagewhich may include not limited to an indicator which is enabled. Theindicator may indicates whether UE may implement the UE-assistedfeedback mechanism in response to the triggering of an event. Assumingthat a serving WLAN for the UE has been temporarily suspended, in stepS402, the UE would transmit to the M Node a first UE feedbackinformation-to-MNode message which may include not limited to a causeindicator which would indicate ‘busy medium’. In step S403, the UE wouldkeep the current LWA configuration and wait for further instruction fromthe M node. In step S404, the UE has detected that the serving WLAN isavailable again before, and such event occur may occur before or afterthe UE receiving the second MNode Configuration-to-UE message (e.g.307). In step S405, the UE may transmit a second UE feedbackinformation-to-MNode message which may include not limited to any one ora combination of a preference direction indicator which indicates apreference direction of WLAN′, an AP list, and measurement results whichcorrespond to the APs of the AP list. Measurement results or measurementreporting from UE or S node may also include QoE metrics or applicationlayer measurement reporting, e.g., user perceived throughput/quality,multimedia buffering time, preferred bit rate, web page download time,etc. QoE metrics for streaming QoE reporting may include RepresentationSwitch Events, Average Throughput, Initial Playout Delay, Buffer Level,Play List, MPD Information, Playout Delay for Media Start-up, Deviceinformation, etc. Measurement reporting may be used for QoE MeasurementCollection for Streaming or for quality estimation.

FIG. 5 illustrates a general message flow that may involve a S Nodebesides a M Node, and messages being transmitted may include a MNodeConfiguration-to-UE message, a UE feedback information-to-MNode message,a MNode Configuration-to-SNode message, and a SNode feedbackinformation-to-MNode message. The order or the combination of messagesis not limited to the presented embodiment. For example, the MNodeConfiguration-to-UE message (S501) may include one or more events fortriggering BSR or measurement reporting, measurement configuration, BSRconfiguration, direction command or restriction, and etc. The MNodeConfiguration-to-SNode message (S503) may include a measurement requestor inquiry. The UE feedback information-to-MNode (S502) message mayinclude measurement results, BSR reporting, and etc. The SNode feedbackinformation-to-MNode message (S504) may include measurement resultswhich correspond to the request or inquiry of the MNodeConfiguration-to-SNode message (S503). The M node may make the ULdirection according to received information from UE (e.g. S502) or fromS node (e.g. 504). The UE may follow the direction command or routes ascommanded and subsequently schedules data to the commanded direction.

A set of triggering events could be inherently configured within the UEor S node, and each of the triggering events would be inherently mappedto an event indicator. Each triggering event could be individuallyconfigured or enabled by the M node via means not limited to dedicatedsignaling or broadcast signaling.

Information carried by “UL Decision” from M node may include information(1) to determine UL direction decision, e.g., {LTE, WLAN, both}, AP ID,AP list, S node ID, another RAT, and so forth, (2) to request assistanceinformation from UE or S node, e.g., measurement results, BSR, and soforth, and to calculate or to accumulate the number of indication fromUEs or S node. Upon receiving configuration from M node, the UE mayrespond by the following not limited to any one or a combination of: (1)data scheduling or routing according to the received direction command,(2) detecting for triggering event and cause indicator transmissionaccording to the UE detection, (3) reporting of BSR contents such asindex, table, size level, and so forth, (4) configuration of BSRreporting such as periodical, event triggering, no reporting, and etc.

For example, a triggering event could be processed as follows. Based onUE's feedback information, the M node would likely be aware of UE'ssituation upon receiving such feedback information. The triggering eventcould be determined from direct reporting from the UE, the BSR, themeasurement report, and so forth. Event triggering scenarios may includenot limited to any one or a combination of traffic demand, busy medium(bad channel condition), preference direction, and traffic congestion.Feedback information from UE or S node may further include not limitedto any one or a combination of Node ID, measurement results, BSR, andevent indication. The M node may re-configure or update the UE, theserving node, or interfering/non-serving node by transmittinginformation not limited to any one or a combination of an AP ID, an APlist, a channel number, and a new traffic direction.

For example, each triggering event may be represented as measured,calculated, or quantized items in terms of different units forcomparison, determination, or recognition. Triggering events may includenot limited to any one or a combination of ‘Traffic Demand’, ‘BusyMedium’, ‘Preference Direction’, and ‘Traffic Congestion’. Trafficdemand could be determined based on buffered data in bytes which may bein UE buffer, PDCP buffer, RLC buffer, WLAN buffer, and etc. The trafficdemand may also be determined from an index of range of buffered data oran indication of buffered-data explosion.

For example, assuming that an eNB configures a threshold of buffereddata to be 3,000,000 bytes, then a UE would be triggered to feedbackinformation if the UE's buffered data is 10,000,000 bytes which is overthe threshold of 3,000,000 bytes.

For example, eNB may configure a threshold of increasing rate ofbuffered data, e.g., 30000 bytes/sec. UE will be triggered for feedbackinformation if increasing rate of buffered data (e.g., 50000 bytes/sec)is over the threshold (i.e., 30000 bytes/sec).

For the event ‘Busy Medium’ which could also indicate ‘bad channelcondition’ or “WLAN resource”, such event could be determined at leastfrom received signal strength indication (RSSI) in dBm, WLAN RSSI, acomparison of RSSI or channel occupancy rate (referring to LAA),data/decoding error rate, (MCS), CCA failure rate (the number ofmeasured RSSI over a threshold within a time window), interferencelevel, WLAN resource (e.g., hardware problem, sharing or occupancy),etc.

For example, an eNB may configure a threshold of RSSI, e.g., a powersensitivity level of −126 dBm. UE will be triggered for feedbackinformation if a power sensitivity level is worse than −126 dBm during atime period such as 1 minute or for a comparison of a number thresholdsuch 20 times per trial.

For example, the thresholds of interference level may be also set as“dBm” or level stages (e.g., several ranges of dBm). Therefore, theoperation of comparison is to evaluate the measured output in terms ofdBm with a threshold in terms of dBm. Thus, a UE will be triggered tofeedback information if the measured interference level is over athreshold.

For example, an eNB may configure a threshold of CCA failure rate, suchas 6 out of 10 trials within 2 minutes. A UE will be triggered tofeedback information if the number of measured RSSI is over a threshold(i.e., CCA failure rate) (e.g., 8 out of 10 trials) within a time window(e.g., 2 minutes).

For example, the thresholds of data/decoding and channel occupancy ratemay be also set as “percent” (%). Therefore, the operation of comparisonis to evaluate the measured output in percentage with a threshold inpercentage. A UE will be triggered to feedback information if themeasured output is over a threshold.

For example, busy medium may also means hardware resource busy orhardware problems/issues (e.g., WLAN resource busy, shared basebandprocessor or antenna, etc.). WLAN resource busy may mean that hardwareresource (e.g., WLAN module) performs background scanning or unknownWLAN activity, which is processed by operating system. WLAN module isoccupied by other means temporarily for few seconds (e.g., TX/RXoccupancy/duration or unknown period), so that the communication withWLAN may not be possible or unavailable temporarily. WLAN resource busymay mean that a micro transaction is executed in AP switch. Theconnection of WLAN may be lost for a short period. WLAN resource busymay also mean that a UE is configured with LAA operation while RF moduleor baseband processor is shared with WLAN (e.g., operating on the sameor different frequency), so that the communication with WLAN may not bepossible or unavailable temporarily, or LAA operation may not bepossible or unavailable temporarily. Or, the simultaneous operation(e.g., limited buffer size, processing delay, hardware overheating.) maydegrade the performance (e.g., unsatisfied QoS.). Hardware collision maycause the communication unavailable temporarily. Data transmission orreception may be suspended or stopped. For example, UE may not performmeasurement, may discard measurement report, or may not reportmeasurement results for the corresponding RAT or the related RATs.Measurement requirement (e.g., radio resource management, channel stateinformation, etc.) may not be met for the affected frequency orcomponent carrier if a hardware problem indication is triggered. Radiolink monitoring may be suspended. eNB may be aware that measurementoperation for the corresponding RAT is suspended due to the event ofbusy medium (e.g., hardware problem). eNB may disable or de-activate thecorresponding RAT or the related RATs, and then may re-configure UE forS node connection or operation. The RAT may be LTE, WLAN, NR, etc.

For example, UE may evaluate a WLAN connection to all WLANs inside an APlist whether or not the connection to WLAN becomes temporarilyunavailable. The triggering event ‘Preference Direction’ could bedetermined based on a change of preference direction. For example,assuming that ‘0’ stands for preferring “LTE” and ‘1’ stands forpreferring “WLAN”, the ‘Preference Direction’ event could be triggeredif a UE reports ‘0’ is preferred over the current direction of ‘1’ or‘1’ is preferred over the current direction of ‘0’. For example, a bitsteam may be used for RAT preference. Two bits denotes for LTE and WLAN.“11” denotes for a preference for LTE and WLAN. “01” denotes for apreference for WLAN, not LTE. “10” denotes for a preference for LTE, notWLAN. For another example, QoS is not satisfied so that a bear (e.g.,bearer ID) should be re-mapping (e.g., the bearer should not beoffloaded to WLAN) (e.g., the change of bearer type—split bearer ornon-split bearer). UE may show the preference for which connection. Thepreference direction may cause the eNB or a related entity (e.g., thecore network) to re-configure or to re-allocate a bearer (or a mappingflow) with a modification (e.g., updated mapping relation, QoSparameter/information, etc.). QoS information may include allocation andretention priority (ARP), Guaranteed Flow Bit Rate (GFBR)—UL and DL,Maximum Flow Bit Rate (MFBR)—UL and DL, 5G QoS characteristics-ResourceType (GBR or Non-GBR); Priority level; Packet Delay Budget; Packet ErrorRate, Notification control (indicates whether notification to corenetwork should be made if the QoS targets cannot be fulfilled for a GBRQoS flow during the lifetime of the QoS flow), etc. (e.g., the mappingrelation—the mapping of flow and bearer). For example, hardwareoverheating (e.g., simultaneous operating on multiple RAT, high datarate transmission and reception, high processor speed, etc.) may causeCPU throttling, under-clocking, thermal-throttling, processor speedthrottling, processing delay, etc. The connection of WLAN may besuspended or unavailable temporarily. Consequently, QoS (e.g., bit errorrate) or QoE may not be satisfied. The preference direction indicationmay show a preference to use either one RAT, not simultaneousness. Foranother example, a UE may express “busy medium” previously (e.g., WLANresource), after a while (e.g., seconds), WLAN is available again. UEmay show a preference for WLAN or for multiple RATs. So that, datatransmission and reception may be resumed or re-stared.

The triggering event of ‘Traffic Congestion’ could be determined basedon packet loss, error rate, dropping rate, buffer latency, CCA failurerate, and etc. For example, an eNB may configure a threshold of packetloss rate, e.g., 10% over 100 packets. A UE will be triggered tofeedback information if the packet loss rate (e.g., 20%) is over thethreshold (i.e., 10%). For example, the thresholds of error rate,dropping rate, buffer latency, and CCA failure rate may be also set as“percent” (%). Therefore, the operation of comparison is to evaluate themeasured output in percentage with a threshold in percentage. Forexample, the eNB may configure a threshold of average buffer delay,e.g., 150 ms. The UE will be triggered for feedback information if theaverage buffer delay (e.g., 300 ms) is over the threshold (i.e., 150ms). For example, traffic congestion may be resulted from WLAN resourceor hardware problem, e.g., overheating, hardware sharing, operatingsystem occupancy, processing delay, etc. The cause (e.g., hardwareissues) may be included in the indication of events (e.g., trafficcongestion). The indication may imply that measurement results in UE maynot be available. UE feedback may include affected RATs. eNB may allowUE not to measure, or may configure UE not to measure affected RATs orfrequency.

For example, if eNB receives the traffic congestion indication forhardware sharing between WLAN and LAA (e.g., RF module or antenna isshared.), eNB may reconfigure TX/RX duration. For example, one period isused for WLAN operation and one period is used for LAA operation.Transmission/reception over WLAN may be unavailable temporarily due toLAA operation. In another case, eNB may reconfigure two RATs indifferent bands. For example, 2.4 GHz is used for WLAN, and 5 GHz isused for LAA. eNB may deactivate or release the affected RAT. Forexample, traffic is routed from WLAN to LTE. Shared hardware resource(i.e., WLAN resource or antenna) may be left for LAA operation.

In general, the M Node would transmit a configuration message to enableand configure UE feedback information which could be conveyed by using afeedback message that carries an ‘event cause’ indicator. The eventcause is an indicator that indicates which one of the triggering eventshas been triggered. The event cause could be received and read by the Mnode which may then transmit a configuration message or are-configuration message to UE or S node. Furthermore, a triggeringevent may also be detected by a S node which may then send a feedbackmessage to the M node. FIG. 6A˜FIG. 6C and their corresponding writtendescriptions provide exemplary embodiments to further elucidate theabove described concept.

FIG. 6A shows an exemplary embodiment for which a UE may transmit anevent cause when at least one triggering event transpires. In step S601,the UE may detect at least one triggering event which could be any oneor a combination of the ‘traffic demand’, ‘busy medium’, ‘preferencedirection’, and ‘traffic congestion’. In step S602, the UE may transmita feedback information-to-MNode message to the M Node which could be aneNB or macro cell base station. The feedback information-to-MNodemessage may include not limited to an event cause indicator whichindicates and corresponds to the one triggering event that has beentriggered. In response to the detection of a triggering event, thefeedback information-to-MNode message may further include not limited toany one or a combination of a BSR and measurement results includingsignal strength and/or quality from the M node/LTE cell, from a Snode/WLAN, from any source from an unlicensed spectrum, and etc.

For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 6B, in step S611 the M Node maydetect at least one triggering event which could be any one or acombination of the ‘traffic demand’, ‘busy medium’, ‘preferencedirection’, and ‘traffic congestion’. In step S612, the M Node maytransmit a MNode Configuration-to-SNode message to a S Node. The S Nodecould be a WLAN or an AP. In step S612, the M Node may transmit a MNodeConfiguration-to-UE message to a UE. The MNode Configuration messages instep S612 and S613 may further include any one or a combination of anevent cause indicator, an inquiry information (e.g., BSR, PDCP sequence,UE capability), and a new configuration which may include informationsuch as a node ID, a channel number, and beam information. The inquiryinformation may include “Report UE temporary category/capability” or“Assistance information for parameter re-configuration”. For example, ifthe M Node receives the event indication or the measurement results(e.g., feedback of the inquiry information), M node may re-configure Snode or UE, e.g. reduced number of activated component carriers, reducedMIMO layer capability, reduced modulation order of the UE is supported,etc.

For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 6C, in step S621, the S Node maydetect at least one triggering event which could be any one or acombination of the ‘traffic demand’, ‘busy medium’, ‘preferencedirection’, and ‘traffic congestion’. In step S622, the S Node maytransmit a SNode feedback information-to-MNode message to the M Nodewhich could be an eNB or macro cell base station. The SNode feedbackinformation-to-MNode message may include not limited to an event causeindicator which indicates and corresponds to the one triggering eventthat has been triggered. In response to the detection of a triggeringevent, the feedback information-to-MNode message may further include notlimited to any one or a combination of a BSR and measurement resultsincluding signal strength and/or quality from the M node/LTE cell, froma S node/WLAN, from any source from an unlicensed spectrum, and etc.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary embodiment which expands upon the exemplaryembodiments of FIG. 6A˜FIG. 6C. In step S701, the UE would determinewhether a triggering event has occurred by performing measurements or bydetecting such event. For example, if UE has detected a buffered-dataexplosion within a time period, the UE would respond dynamically bytransmitting a feedback message. In step S702, the UE would transmit toan M Node a UE feedback information-to-Mnode message which may includenot limited to any one or a combination of a measurement result, a BSR,a Node ID, a channel number, and an event cause indicator. By doing so,the UE may inform the M Node that the current service quality has fallenshort of an expected standard via measurement results or BSR. The UEfeedback information-to-Mnode message may further include a bad signalstrength/quality indicator, a low average throughput indicator, afailure to transmit indicator (e.g., temporarily unavailable), and etc.In step S703, in response to receiving the information conveyed from theUE feedback information-to-Mnode message, the M node would take suchfeedback information into account and make decision to improve theservice quality (e.g., bearer type change, flow-bear mapping, QoSremapping, etc.) to the UE. However, before doing so, the M Node mayrequire assistance from the S Node. Also, the M Node may want tore-configure the S Node. By using the BSR, the M node would be aware ofan amount of data stored in the UE due to the LWA configuration with theS node.

In step S704, the M Node would transmit a MNode Configuration-to-Snodemessage which may include not limited to any one or a combination of ameasurement inquiry and a channel number which may help the UE toresolve stalled LWA UL transmission. The measurement inquiry may includeinformation such as a channel condition and internal situation of theWLAN or the AP. In step S705, the S node may transmit to the M Node aSNode feedback information-to-MNode message which may include notlimited to a measurement result and/or a node ID. After receiving thefeedback information from the UE and/or the S node, in step S706, the Mnode would re-configure the uplink split bearer of the UE. In step S707,the M Node would transmit to the UE a MNode Configuration-to-UE messagewhich may include not limited to any one or a combination of a directioncommand (‘DirectionTo’) and an AP list. For example, if the S Node iscompletely inaccessible, the direction command could be DirectionTo=LTE.For example, if connect to the S Node is selected by the M Node, thedirection command could be DirectionTo=WLAN. The S node is not limitedto WLAN but could be any other types of apparatuses that servicewireless connections.

The exemplary embodiment of FIG. 8 is similar to the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 7 except for steps S801 and S802. In step S801, the MNode may transmit a MNode Configuration-to-UE message which may includenot limited to any one or a combination of a direction command and an APlist. For example, the direction command could be used to configure adefault UL direction as ‘DirectionTo=WLAN’. After gathering informationfrom UE and S Node, in step S802, the M Node may transmit a MNodeConfiguration-to-UE message which may change the UL direction to‘DirectionTo=LTE’. The change could be due to a triggering event.

For example, the trigger event could be ‘traffic demand’. If UE buffereddata assumed to be 10,000,000 bytes which far exceeds a highestallowable buffer size level of 3,000,000 bytes for a BSR, then suchcircumstance would trigger the event of ‘traffic demand’. The M node maythen suggest the UE to route traffic to another S Node such as WLAN,higher frequency node, NR node, LAA node, and etc. Measurement resultsmay be required from UEs or S node which may then transmit an eventcause indicator from a UE or S node. Such event would be considered asthe first event or a single event.

For example, the UE may have a UL service with high data raterequirement. However, the signal strength/quality of WLAN link (2.4/5GHz) may still be good enough. Periodic BSR may indicate a higher levelof buffer size, and such event could be considered as a high priority inBSR reporting. When such event occurs, the M node may determine the ULdirection as ‘DirectionTo=LTE’, or the UE direction could be set as both‘DirectionTo=LTE’ and ‘DirectionTo=WLAN’ if the M node is uncertainwhether it could process the high demand of the UE.

If a new event indication is enabled, especially for a particularservice (e.g., AR/VR), the M node may be able to make a better decision.For example, a 60 GHz WLAN AP/an AP List could be provided to the UE.Wide bandwidth and high data rate may be enjoyed, but the LTE service ofthe M node may be not necessarily reserved for the UE. Furthermore, theM node may analyze whether or not a triggering event is a single event.If the triggering event is a single event, the M node may just provide abetter or more suitable WLAN or AP, e.g., 60 GHz WLAN. If there aremultiple triggering events, the M node may need to consider feedbackinformation from both UEs and the S node. For example, (1) when a groupof UEs is attached to a particular AP which may then encountersoverloading problems. The M node may then configure potential APs in anAP list for each of the UEs to balance AP loading. (2) A particularservice requirement could be needed. The M node may assist the UE to usea particular WLAN/AP. In a long-term perspective and system maintenance,the M node should be aware of the reason or cause as for why BSR levelincreases and make an appropriate decision about UL direction instead oftrial and error.

The M Node may enable the UE to transmit feedback information based ononly a specific triggering event. In FIG. 9A, the M node in step S901transmit a MNode Configuration-to-UE message to enable UE to transmitfeedback information in response to a high traffic demand beingencountered. Upon encountering a high loading or a high traffic demand,in step S902, the UE may transmit a UE feedback information-to-MNodemessage to inform of M Node of such triggering event. With assistancefrom the UE, in step S903, the M node may provide a direction commandand related information to mitigate or solve UE's problem byre-configuring the UL of the UE. Thus, in step S904, the M Node wouldtransmit a MNode Configuration-to-UE message which may, for example, set‘DirectionTo=Both’ (i.e. both LTE and WLAN split bearers would be used)and AP ID=ICL.

For example, the M node in the MNode Configuration-to-UE message mayindicate a specific AP ID in an AP list. If needed, the M node mayindicate a 60 GHz WLAN (e.g., AP ID) in the AP list, or M node mayprovide more specific AP information such SSID or BSSID or HESSID namein the same or in a separate AP list.

For example, the M node in the MNode Configuration-to-UE message mayprovide a direction command, including DirectionTo=WLAN and AP list.However, if the UE is not satisfied with the UL direction or theconfiguration upon using S node/AP, the UE may communicate suchunsatisfied experience to the MNode. Upon receiving the event causeindicator which indicates such unsatisfied experience, the M node mayseek another S node for help if necessary. The M Node may then configurea different S node to the UE or a list of APs for the UE to choose from.The M node may accordingly modify the UL direction of the UE via theMNode Configuration-to-UE message of step S904.

The M Node may also resolve the issue of a trigger event without UE'sassistance. For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 9B, the UE may transmitthe UE feedback information-to-MNode to only contain the event causeindicator. Upon determining the trigger event from the event causeindicator, the M node would solve the problem by its own without otherinformation from the UE to assist the troubleshooting. In step S905, ifa list of S node ID (e.g., AP list) is provided in the MNodeConfiguration-to-UE message, M node would thus indicate the UE to routetraffic to another node or cell or beam.

For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 10, the M node would select a Snode (e.g. WLAN/AP) to service the UE. The M node may collect feedbackinformation from one or multiple UEs in order to re-configure thecurrent S node or a new S node to the UE. The M node may needmeasurement results from the UE or from the current S node. The M nodemay then re-configure the UE to route traffic to another S Node such asa WLAN, a higher frequency node, a NR node, a LAA node, and etc.

Referring to FIG. 10, UE_1 may transmit a UE feedbackinformation-to-MNode message which may include not limited to an eventcause indicator which indicates the triggering event of ‘trafficdemand’. Within a predetermined time period, UE_2 may also transmit a UEfeedback information-to-MNode message (S1001) which includes not limitedto an event cause indicator which indicates the triggering event of‘traffic demand’. In step S1002, the M node may make a UL decision forUE_1 and UE_2 upon receiving the feedback information from the UEs aspreviously described embodiments. Alternatively, the M node may make theUL decisions after collecting more information from the same UEs orother UEs within a predetermine time duration (threshold_1, e.g., 10seconds). M node may need to determine whether the feedbacks indicate asingle trigging event having a common cause or multiple events havingdifferent causes. Also, from the feedback information, the M node maydetermine whether the event(s) are actually caused by the serving AP(s).In order to do so, the M node may need to calculate or to accumulateinformation from a number of event cause indicators not only from UE(s)but also from S node(s). In step S1003, the M node may then transmit aMNode Configuration-to-Snode message which may include a measurementinquiry to an S node for further information. Upon receiving the SNodefeedback information-to-Mnode in step S1004, the M node may determine asolution not limited to providing a direction command and relatedinformation, e.g., DirectionTo=WLAN and AP list to one or more UEs bytransmitting a MNode configuration-to-UE message in step S1005.

For example, the M node may receive event cause indicators from the sameor different UEs, e.g., M node receives an event cause indicator fromUE_2 after receiving an event cause indicator from UE_1 within apredetermined time window. The number of event cause indicators receivedby the M node may need to exceed a threshold (e.g., 10 times). The Mnode may request feedback information from UE or S node before making ULdecisions. For example, due to UE's problems, the M node may reservemore WLAN resources, to change UL directions, or to indicate AP ID for aspecific UE. Due to S node's problems, the M node may have to change ULdirection or to change the AP list for the UEs.

In the event of ‘busy medium’ or bad channel condition, for example, aUE may have difficulties decoding data as error rate of received datamight be high. Such problem could be caused by an event such as channelfading, interference, atmospheric absorption, and etc. The M node mayassist the UE to resolve decoding difficulties (e.g., temporarilyunavailable in WLAN module or transmission/reception) by modifyingconfigurations of any one or a combination of a non-serving S node, aTX/RX opportunity/duration (e.g., the availability of WLAN module of APor UE), a new configuration with AP ID, a channel number, and so forth.An AP may be a node having a specific frequency, channel, bandwidth,beam, sector, geo-location, and etc.

The triggering event of ‘busy medium’ or bad channel condition may needfurther WLAN measurement results in order for a UE to determine whetherto transmit a feedback information having such triggering event to the MNode. For example, a UE may experience bad data transmission/receptiondue to ‘busy medium’ or bad channel condition as the results ofinterference, pathloss, bad channel condition, or hardware issues. Eventhough the CCA failure rate as measured by RSSI over a threshold mayincrease, the WLAN/S node RSSI or signal strength might still good.Under such circumstance, WLAN measurement report may not be triggered.

For another example, the BSR level of a UE may increase slowly when theUE is served by a particular S node, but the M node may not be aware ofthe situation. In fact, the M node might not be having any issue withthe S node. Therefore, the M node may not take any action. If atriggering event indicator is enabled, the M node may be aware of suchproblems which may further include, for example, (1) hidden node problemas the M node may change or modify channel number or WLAN/AP and (2)problems suffered by multiple UEs. The M node may calculate or analyzethe triggering event indicators from the UE or the S node. If theproblem of BSR level increase is caused by a particular AP, then the APID could be excluded from the AP list currently configured for the UE.

If a group of UEs are provided with the same S node/AP list, the M nodemay provide a different S node list or AP list to different UEs. Forexample, based on UE's feedback information, the M node could be awarethat the UE suffers interference upon transmitting or receiving. UE maythen further include information of known interfering node to M node byproviding a Node ID of the interference node. The M node may thenre-configure interfering/non-serving node by means such as assigning adifferent channel number for interfering node to use.

For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 11, the M node may attempt to solvethe problems by its own accord. Upon encountering ‘busy medium’ or badchannel condition, in step S1101, UE may inform such triggering event tothe M node by transmitting a UE feedback information-to-MNode messagewhich may further include any one or a combination of WLAN unavailabletime (e.g., several seconds or TX/RX opportunity/duration), measurementresults, BSR, interference level, and node ID. It may imply that WLANmodule is temporarily unavailable. The M node may wait a period toprovide a reconfiguration. The M node may consider this feedbackinformation to make a UL decision which may include re-configuring an ULdirection of a UE. From the UE feedback information-to-MNode messagefrom the UE, in step S1102, the M node may transmit a MNodeConfiguration-to-UE message which would provide a direction commande.g., DirectionTo=WLAN and AP list as well as related information suchas channel number and beam information.

The triggering event indicator may also indicate ‘high interference’,‘busy medium’, ‘WLAN busy medium’, ‘bad channel condition’, ‘high errorrate’, or other settings (e.g., QoS/QoE dissatisfaction, hardwareissues/problems, hardware sharing, hardware overheating, performanceincrease/decrease, etc.) in the following embodiments.

For example, beam information referring to IEEE 802.11ad/ax/ay mayinclude: (1) discovery information including a configuration of beaconinterval in terms of time units, (2) feedback information for coarsebeam training including countdown indication, sector ID, antenna ID,codebook, index of codebook, weight vectors (in digital or analogdomain), antenna pattern, antenna configuration, antenna port layout,antenna array model, slot selection in association beamforming time forbeamforming training, and etc., where ID may be a number, sequence,code, name, pattern, index, and etc., (3) antenna configuration whichcould be for fine beam training including beam ID, codebook, index ofcodebook, weight vectors (in digital or analog domain), etc., and (4)transmission configuration including channel ID, MCS index, indicator ofscheduled access (including service period), or contention accessservice period (including contention period) for TDMA or spatial reuse.

FIG. 12 shows an exemplary embodiment in which the M node would requireassistance from the S node. For this exemplary embodiment, the UE isassumed to experience difficulties such as high error rate in decodingdata, and the difficulties could be caused by a number of possibilitiesincluding channel fading, interference, atmospheric absorption, and etc.The M node would resolve UE's decoding difficulties by modifyconfiguration of non-serving S node or by modifying the TX/RXopportunity/duration of S node or UE. The measurement results from UEmay further include a new channel number.

Referring to FIG. 12, in step S1201, the UE may transmit to the M Node aUE feedback information-to-MNode message which may include one or acombination of an event cause indicator which indicates ‘highinterference’, measurement results, BSR, and Node ID of the serving SNode. In step S1202, may determine to delegate the task of resolvingUE's difficult to the S node. In step S1203, the M node may transmit aMNode Configuration-to-SNode message which may include at least one or acombination of a new channel number, a TX/RX opportunity or duration. Instep S1204, the S node would transmit a SNode feedbackinformation-to-MNode message which may include any one or a combinationof a new channel number and beam information. In step S1205, the M nodewould transmit to the UE a MNode Configuration-to-UE message which mayinclude any one or a combination of DirectionTo=WLAN, an AP list, a newchannel number, and beam information.

For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 13, the M node would collectfeedback information from S node or UE in order to re-configure S nodewhich could be a serving or non-serving S node. For example, in stepS1301, the M node may receive a triggering event from S node via a SNodefeedback information-to-MNode message which may include any one or bothof an event cause indicating ‘high interference’ and a channel numberwhich denotes the channel being interfered with. For example, S node maybe temporarily unavailable. In step S1302, the M node may inquirewhether a UE also encounters the same problem and may inquire assistancefrom the UE by means such as obtaining a measurement result bytransmitting a MNode Configuration-to-UE message. After gatheringfeedback information from a UE feedback information-to-MNode message instep S1303, the M node may determine and subsequently transmit to the UEin step S1305 a MNode Configuration-to-UE message which may include anyone or a combination of a UL direction (e.g. DirectionTo=WLAN), a newchannel number, a TX/RX opportunity/duration, an AP list. In step S1304,the M node may transmit a MNode Configuration-to-Snode message which mayinclude any one or a combination of a new channel number, a TX/RXopportunity or duration to the S node.

In another exemplary embodiment, the S node may be aware of highinterference by its monitoring or measurements. The S node may furthermodify the WLAN resource (e.g., channel) to avoid the interference. TheS node may further inform the M node of such problem, and then the Mnode may request UEs for measurements to identify the problem. The Mnode may need to collect or retain feedback information from the S nodeor the UEs within a time duration to be able to solve the problemimmediately.

The following disclosure would provide examples of a M node receiving apreference direction. A UE may transmit a preference of UL direction tothe M Node. Preference direction may further include a preferred cell, apreferred beam, a preferred S node/AP, and etc. based on increased WLANusage opportunity and efficiency. Upon receiving the triggering event ofa preference direction change, the M node may need more feedbackinformation in order to provide suitable configuration to the UE or theS node. For example, the M node may request from the UE or the S nodemeasurement results which may include any one or a combination of WLANRSSI, AP loading, channel utilization, estimation data rate,interference level, and bandwidth. For LTE cellular communication, themeasurement results may include any one or a combination of RSSI, RSRP,RSRQ, interference level, and bandwidth.

WLAN measurement results may include any one or a combination of BeaconRSSI, WLAN RSSI, RSSI, DL/UL backhaul rate, estimated throughput, and802.11 metrics (as described in 3GPP R2-142731). The 802.11 metrics mayinclude any one or a combination of received channel power indicator(RCPI), received signal to noise indicator (RSNI), average noise powerindicator (ANPI), Channel Load, Basic Service Set Identifier (SSID),basic service set (BSS) Load, BSS Avg Access Delay, BSS AccessController (AC) Access Delay, BSS Available Admission Capacity, NoiseHistogram, Tx/Rx Frame Count, QOS Tx/Rx Frame Count, frame checksequence (FCS) Error Count, Retry Count, Retry a MAC service data unit(AMSDU) Count, Supported Operating Classes, BSS Description, RoamingConsortium, network access identifier (NAI) Realm, 3GPP Cell Network,Capability Lists, wide area network (WAN) Metrics, and station(STA)Capabilities.

In one exemplary embodiment, a UE may choose its own preference, and theM node would go with the UE's preference. Therefore, the M node wouldneed to first enable the feedback of such triggering event indicator forthe UE to communicate its preference for the UL direction. Thepreference of UL direction may also be modified according to UE's futuredecisions. For example, the UE may provide preference of UL direction ina message to M node, and message may include the node ID and preferencedirection. In one exemplary embodiment, the M node may go with or rejectUE's preference to route traffic to indicated S node. M node may requestUE or S node for measurement results which may include any one or acombination of WLAN RSSI, AP loading, channel utilization, estimationdata rate, interference level, and bandwidth. Measurement results mayinclude any one or a combination of RSSI, RSRP, RSRQ, interferencelevel, and bandwidth.

For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 14, in step S1401, the UE maytransmit a UE feedback information-to-MN node message which wouldinclude ‘PreferenceDirection=WLAN’ to M Node. Temporary UE capability orremaining capability may be included, e.g., hardware usage, BSR, antennaconfiguration, TX/RX opportunity, etc. A timer may be configured, e.g.,by M node, not to re-transmit UE feedback information-MNode message. Forexample, a timer period is configured for event evaluation. In stepS1402, the M node may request more feedback information from UE to setthe configuration or to understand whether or not UE has this need bytransmitting a MNode Configuration-to-UE message which may include aninquiry (e.g., BSR, PSCP sequence, UE capability, etc.). In step S1403,the UE would transmit a UE feedback information-to-MNode message whichmay include any one or a combination of measurement results, BSR, andNode. Based on the feedback information, in step S1404, the M node mayprovide configuration to UE via a MNode Configuration-to-UE messagewhich may include any one or a combination of ‘DirectionTo=WLAN’, an APlist, a new channel number, and beam information. Alternatively, the UEmay also request UL direction as ‘DirectionTo=LTE’ or Both‘DirectionTo=WLAN’ and ‘DirectionTo=LTE’. M node may go with UE'srequest.

For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 15, the UE in step S1501 wouldprovide a preference of direction by transmitting to a M node a UEfeedback information-to-MNode message which may include any one or acombination of a S node ID, ‘preferenceDirection=WLAN’, and an AP list.The content of the UE feedback information-to-MNode message could bedetermined based on UE's situation, measurement, preference,application, or etc. The M node may go with UE's preference bytransmitting a MNode Configuration-to-UE message which may include‘DirectionTo=WLAN and/or an AP list.

For example, the temporarily connection loss of M node or S node mayhappen randomly (e.g., due the hardware issues, the radio resource, orthe channel condition). UE may use “busy medium”, “traffic congestion”,or other settings to notify the network (e.g., M node). UE may prefer tomaintain or resume the connection or the configuration after thetemporarily connection lost or the temporarily unavailable. The M nodemay not release the UE context or the connection if the M node is awareof this condition. When the connection is recovered or when thecorresponding hardware is available again, the UE may use the preferenceindication to update the condition or to resume the transmission.

For example, after a period of WLAN (e.g., module) temporarilyunavailable of UE or S node (e.g., few seconds), UE may indicate thatWALN is available again by the preference indication. The content of theindication may be still ‘DirectionTo=WLAN’, which is the same as theprevious or the current M node configuration. The M node may be awarethat WALN is available again at UE or S node. The M node may resume datatransmission/reception or outing via S node (e.g., WLAN). The M node maynot need to configure UE or S node again.

The preference indication may imply that a UE would like to increase ordecrease the performance (e.g., data rate). For example, “increaseperformance”, the preference indication may indicate “multiple RATs”,may indicate “LTE only” with QoS requirement or QoE reporting. FurtherUE reporting may include unused or remaining UE capability, e.g., WLANcapability, higher modulation, carrier aggregation, etc. For example,“decrease performance”, the preference indication may indicate “one RATonly” due to UE battery consumption, or may include additionalinformation in measurement reporting, e.g., “reduce performance” (e.g.,lower modulation, reduced number of carrier component, no multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO), no beamforming, etc.) due to overheating.

The exemplary embodiment of FIG. 16 is similar to the exemplaryembodiments of FIG. 14 and FIG. 15; however, in step S1601, the UEreceives a rejection via a deny indication from a MNodeConfiguration-to-UE message, which may further include a timer in whicha UE is not allowed to retransmit the event indication. For example, Mnode would like not to reduce performance (e.g., data rate) for that UE.For example, M node is aware that a UE is in the situation of low power.In response, in step S1602, the UE would transmit a feedbackinformation-to-MNode message which may include still a preference forperformance increase or decrease, or for a RAT preference, e.g., WLAN(e.g. ‘PreferenceDirection) and an AP list. In step S1603, the M nodemay still reject or accept UE's request, for example, select an AP toserve the UE by transmitting a MNode Configuration-to-UE message whichincludes an AP ID that correspond to the AP selected by the M node fromthe AP list and DirectionTo=WLAN′.

The following exemplary embodiments are related to the triggering eventof ‘traffic congestion’. In the event that the M node detects trafficcongestion in the LTE cellular service, the M node may command the UE toconfigure its split bear to schedule or route data to WLAN only. Todetect traffic congestion, data/PDCP PDUs/WLAN MAC bufferscheduled/routed to WLAN would need to exceed or equal to a threshold. Mnode may detect traffic congestion by the feedback information, e.g.,buffer status report, PDCP status, WLAN status, etc. M node may furtheraccept or reject UE's request or actions in responding to the eventindication. The S node may also indicate an overloading situation. The Mnode may resolve the situation by configuring the amount of traffic perUEs via direction commands to any one of the UEs.

For example, a transmitter (UE WLAN) may suffer the problem of trafficcongestion. A UE, such as WLAN MAC may drop some packets which arebuffered for a long time or are over a buffer size so that the droppingrate may be increased. For example, traffic congestion may be resultedfrom hardware over-heating or hardware sharing, so that QoS or QoE maynot be satisfied. The M node could be aware of such issue via PDCPsequence number (e.g., PDCP Status Report) or BSR reporting. The M nodemay determine that a particular AP is causing such transmission problem.A UL direction may then be modified to transmit to the LTE instead ofthe AP that is causing the problem. However, there could be multiplecauses to this situation. Examples may include (1) bad WLAN radiocondition, (M node may then modify a particular AP, an AP list, newchannel number) (2) AP overloading, (e.g. lack of WLAN resource. M nodemay reduce the number of UEs associating with the same AP, a new APlist, etc.), (3) a huge number of accounts, (M node may reduce thenumber of UEs associating with the same AP, a new AP list, etc.), (4)buffer overloading, (e.g., WLAN MAC/LTE buffer/UE buffer may overload.UL direction may be modification. Data routing needs restriction, e.g.,the amount of data to WLAN is adjusted.) M node may determine ULdirection with or without feedback information. S node or UE-assistedfeedback could be used to assist the decision of UL direction. In theview of system, WLAN or S node could be efficiently used if a new eventindication or feedback information is enabled or enhanced.

For example, UE may be aware of events about internal signaling ofoverloading of WLAN MAC buffer or PDCP PDUs. The M node may have optionsto understand issues such as from BSR inquiry. The M node may haveoptions to resolve issues such as by re-direction of reporting UE,re-direction of other UEs served by the same WLAN, or by suspendingDL/UL transmission (e.g. S node connection/transmission/reception may betemporarily unavailable).

For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 17, in step S1701, the M nodecommands UE to schedule/route data (e.g., split/configurable bearer) toWLAN only. However, in step S1702, traffic congestion occurs in the UEas the UE is not satisfied with the configuration which may cause issuesin UE as the UE buffer could be under heavy loads or overloading. Instep S1703, the UE would communicate such information by transmittingthe WLAN link status via internal signaling of overloading of WLAN MACbuffer. The UE may also feedback BSR, measurement report, eventindication, and etc. In step S1704, M node may obtain this real-timeinformation and may determine a new UL direction which could be‘DirectionTo=LTE’.

For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 18, the UE buffer may include a UES node or WLAN buffer or a UE M node or LTE buffer. The exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 18 is similar to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 17except that the UL direction may be modified. Because of trafficcongestion (S1801), the traffic is steered back to LTE and WLAN (S1802).Also a specific AP may be also included by transmitting the AP ID fromthe M Node to the UE.

For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 19, UE_1 may feedback a triggeringevent indicator which indicates ‘traffic congestion’ as well as an AP IDassociated with the traffic congestion (S1901). This may occur if toomany UEs are using a WLAN/AP. M node may be aware of this situation.UE_1 and UE_2 are served under the same WLAN/AP. In step S1902, the Mnode may determine whether UE_1 has priority as well as determining thedirection command, AP list, transmission suspension, channel selectionas described in previous examples. If UE_1 is determined to havepriority, in step S1903, the M node may re-direct UE_2 to anotherWLAN/AP or LTE so that more WLAN resource could be reserved for UE_1.Alternatively, the M node may receive information of traffic congestionfrom a S node. The M node may then determine whether to suspendtransmission to the S node or to re-direct UEs to another WLAN/AP or LTEto resolve this issue in the S node.

For exemplary embodiment of FIG. 20 is similar to FIG. 19. In responseto the M node receiving feedback of traffic congestion from UE_1. Inorder to reserve more WLAN resources for UE_1, the M node may suspendUE_2 for WLAN UL transmission for a time period. Other options mayfurther include new AP list for UEs, dedicated AP ID, direction to bothlinks, to request S node to reserve more WLAN resource (e.g., radioresource, hardware resource, etc.), and etc.

For the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 21, the M node may receive afeedback of traffic congestion from UE_1. To further understand thisevent, the M node may request feedback information from S nodes or UEsto determine whether or not this is a single event or a problem causedby WLAN/AP. Feedback information from UE may include BSR, measurementresults, buffer latency, hardware usage information, UE capabilityremaining information, etc. Feedback information from S node may includemeasurement results, S node situation (e.g., loading, latency), etc. Byusing UE or S node feedback information, M node may be aware of WLANTX/RX situation (e.g., the cause of temporarily unavailable WLAN module,the corresponding period, etc.). Correspondingly, M node may configureUEs for further operations. M node may take actions as mentioned inprevious embodiments such as by issuing a direction command, an AP list,a transmission suspension, a new channel selection, and etc.

In summary, the MNode Configuration-to-UE message may include any one ora combination of {direction command, e.g., {LTE, WLAN, both},scheduling/routing restriction (e.g., Prioritized Bit Rate (PBR),priority for logical channel prioritization, amount of data in routing),events (e.g., traffic demand, busy medium/bad channel condition,preference direction, traffic congestion, hardware issues, etc.),thresholds/parameters in event triggering evaluation (e.g., thresholdvalue, time period, etc.), time period, transmission suspension, channelselection, S node/cell/beam/sector information (e.g., ID, sequence,code, list, channel number, bandwidth, spectrum frequency, etc.) (e.g.,WLAN, higher frequency node, NR node, LAA node, etc.), enable of eventtriggering or even indication, indication of S node in the list, TX/RXopportunity/duration, measurement configuration, measurement reporting,measurement request/enquiry, BSR configuration (e.g., content, format,header, index of table, etc.), BSR reporting/triggering (e.g., Triggeredreporting), BSR request/enquiry, etc.}, radio configuration (e.g.,channel number, bandwidth, spectrum frequency, antenna, MCS,LWA/DC/aggregation activation/deactivation, transmit power level, etc.)which may be implemented by new message/signaling/indication,RRCConnectionReconfiguration, Measurement Control, or SystemInformation.

A UE feedback information-to-MNode message may include any one or acombination of {event indication (e.g., preference, overloadingindication, huge traffic enquiry, failure transmission, bad channelcondition, traffic command, hardware issues, etc.), measurementreporting/results (e.g., M node, S node, licensed/unlicensed spectrum)(e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI/channel occupancy of unlicensed spectrum,interference level, WLAN RSSI, WLAN measurement results, error rate,dropping rate, beam information, buffer latency, unavailable period,etc.), S node/cell/beam/sector information (e.g., ID, list, TX/RXopportunity/duration, spectrum frequency, etc.), priority of UEs ortraffic flow, indication of BSR table, BSR reporting, etc., which may beimplemented by new message/signaling/indication,RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete, or Measurement Report, which maybe triggered by eNB Configuration or events.

A MNode Configuration-to-SNode message may include any one or acombination of {measurement request/enquiry (e.g., channel condition,etc.), WLAN/AP situation request/enquiry, enable event indication, newconfiguration (e.g., node ID/sequence, channel number, beam information,spectrum frequency, etc.), TX/RX opportunity/duration, transmissionsuspension, channel selection, etc.}, which may be implemented by newmessage/signaling/indication, etc. . . .

SNode feedback information-to-MNode message may include any one or acombination of {measurement results (e.g., WLAN measurement results,RSSI/channel occupancy of unlicensed spectrum, etc.), S node situation(e.g., overloading indication, high interference indication, etc.),event indication, LWA performance (e.g., loading, buffer latency, etc.),preference, node ID, beam information, spectrum frequency, channelnumber, bandwidth, TX/RX opportunity/duration, priority of UEs ortraffic flow, etc.}, which may be implemented by newmessage/signaling/indication, which may be triggered by eNBConfiguration or events.

No element, act, or instruction used in the detailed description ofdisclosed embodiments of the present application should be construed asabsolutely critical or essential to the present disclosure unlessexplicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, each of theindefinite articles “a” and “an” could include more than one item. Ifonly one item is intended, the terms “a single” or similar languageswould be used. Furthermore, the terms “any of” followed by a listing ofa plurality of items and/or a plurality of categories of items, as usedherein, are intended to include “any of”, “any combination of”, “anymultiple of”, and/or “any combination of” multiples of the items and/orthe categories of items, individually or in conjunction with other itemsand/or other categories of items. Further, as used herein, the term“set” is intended to include any number of items, including zero.Further, as used herein, the term “number” is intended to include anynumber, including zero.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the structure of thedisclosed embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of thedisclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the disclosurecover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they fallwithin the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method used by a user equipment for controllingquality of user experience (QoE) based on user equipment (UE) assistedfeedback, the method comprising: receiving an enable indicator whichindicates a first feedback signaling to be transmitted; receiving afirst configuration message comprising a timer configuration of a firsttimer, wherein the timer configuration of the first timer comprises aduration for the first timer; performing a quality of experience (QoE)evaluation for fulfilling a performance requirement; transmitting thefirst feedback signaling comprising a first preferred configuration of awireless connection in response to performing the QoE evaluation,wherein the first feedback signaling indicates whether an aggregateconfiguration is supported by the UE, and the wireless connectioncomprises a licensed wireless connection and a licensed-assisted accessconnection; and starting the first timer in response to transmitting thefirst feedback signaling.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the firstconfiguration message further comprises a timer configuration of asecond timer and a timer configuration of a third timer, wherein thetimer configuration of the second timer comprises a duration for thesecond timer, and the timer configuration of the third timer comprises aduration for the third timer.
 3. The method of claim 2 furthercomprising: re-transmitting, after transmitting the first feedbacksignaling, the first feedback signaling after the first timer hasexpired without receiving any configuration message associated with thefirst feedback signaling.
 4. The method of claim 2 further comprising:starting the second timer in response to transmitting the first feedbacksignaling; performing, after transmitting the first feedback signaling,another iteration of the QoE evaluation for fulfilling the performancerequirement; and transmitting, after transmitting the first feedbacksignaling, a second feedback signaling comprising a second preferredconfiguration in response to the QoE evaluation after the second timerhas expired.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving asecond configuration message which comprises a deny indicator whichrejects the first preferred configuration.
 6. The method of claim 2further comprising: receiving a second configuration message whichcomprises a deny indicator which rejects the first preferredconfiguration; starting the third timer in response to receiving thesecond configuration message; performing, after receiving the firstconfiguration, another iteration of the QoE evaluation for fulfillingthe performance requirement; and transmitting, after receiving thesecond configuration message, a third feedback signaling comprising thesecond preferred configuration in response to the another iteration ofthe QoE evaluation after the third timer has expired.
 7. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the second configuration message further comprises oneor a combination of inquiring an updated preferred configuration, anupdated status report, and an updated measurement report.
 8. The methodof claim 1 further comprising: receiving, after transmitting the firstfeedback signaling, a third configuration message comprising one or acombination of a configured radio configuration and a configureddirection command.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first preferredconfiguration comprising one of updating the radio configuration, thedirection command, the status report, the measurement report, and anupdating cause.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the QoEevaluation for fulfilling the performance requirement furthercomprising: detecting any one of loading, buffer latency, buffered data,packet loss, error rate, dropping rate, data rate, channel, bandwidth,spectrum frequency, MCS, and hardware issues.
 11. The method of claim 9,wherein the radio configuration comprising one or a combination ofchannel, frequency, MCS, bandwidth, data rate, coding rate, buffer size,power level, antenna configuration, and aggregation capability.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the direction command indicates one or acombination of a LTE wireless connection, a second wireless connectionand an identifier (ID) associated with the second wireless connection,and both the LTE wireless connection and the second wireless connection.13. A user equipment comprising: a transmitter; a receiver; and aprocessor coupled to the transmitter and the receiver and is configuredat least to: receive, by the receiver, an enable indicator whichindicates a first feedback signaling to be transmitted; receive, by thereceiver, a first configuration message comprising a timer configurationof a first timer wherein the timer configuration of the first timercomprises a duration for the first timer; perform a quality ofexperience (QoE) evaluation for fulfilling a performance requirement;transmit, via the transmitter, a first feedback signaling comprising afirst preferred configuration of a wireless connection in response toperforming the first QoE evaluation, wherein the first feedbacksignaling indicates whether an aggregate configuration is supported bythe user equipment, wherein the wireless connection comprises a licensedwireless connection and a licensed-assisted access connection; and startthe first timer in response to transmitting the first feedbacksignaling.
 14. A base station comprising: a transmitter; a receiver; anda processor coupled to the transmitter and the receiver and isconfigured at least to: receive a first feedback signaling comprising apreferred configuration of a wireless connection and indicating whetheran aggregate configuration is supported, wherein the preferredconfiguration comprises a preferred direction and the wirelessconnection comprises a licensed wireless connection and alicensed-assisted access connection; transmit a first configurationmessage which comprises one or a combination of a status report inquiryand a measurement inquiry associated with one or more radio accesstechnologies (RATs) in response to receiving the first feedbacksignaling; receive a second feedback signaling comprising a measurementreport associated with the measurement inquiry in response totransmitting the first configuration message; and transmit a secondconfiguration message to update the preferred configuration in responseto receiving the measurement report, wherein the second configurationmessage further comprises a first timer which indicates a time periodbetween transmitting and re-transmitting the first feedback signaling bya user equipment.
 15. The base station of claim 14, wherein the firstconfiguration message further comprises a deny indicator which rejectsthe preferred configuration.
 16. The base station of claim 14, whereinthe first feedback signaling further comprising a quality of experience(QoE) evaluation for fulfilling a performance requirement.
 17. The basestation of claim 14, wherein the second configuration message furthercomprises a second timer which indicates a time period betweentransmitting the first feedback signaling and transmitting the secondfeedback signaling by the user equipment, and a third timer whichindicates a time period between receiving the first configuration andthe third feedback signaling by the user equipment.
 18. The base stationof claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to: transmit,after receiving the first feedback signaling, a third configurationmessage comprising one or a combination of a radio configuration and adirection command.
 19. The base station of claim 18, wherein thepreferred configuration comprising one or a combination of updating theradio configuration, the direction command, the status report, themeasurement report, and an updating cause.
 20. The base station of claim16, wherein the QoE evaluation comprising one or a combination ofloading, buffer latency, buffered data, packet loss, error rate,dropping rate, data rate, channel, bandwidth, spectrum frequency, MCS,and hardware issues.
 21. The base station of claim 18, wherein the radioconfiguration comprising one or a combination of channel, frequency,MCS, bandwidth, data rate, coding rate, buffer size, power level,antenna configuration, and aggregation capability.
 22. The base stationof claim 18 wherein the direction command indicates one or a combinationof a LTE wireless connection, a second wireless connection and anidentifier (ID) associated with the second wireless connection, and boththe LTE wireless connection and the second wireless connection.